


No Space Between Us

by foolishguniw



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Naoto, Other, Trans Character, Trans Naoto, Tumblr Prompt, this is just long and Gay, this is not a mini-fic and i apologize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 08:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4599498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foolishguniw/pseuds/foolishguniw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first in a series of Persona mini-fics based off of tumblr prompts. Taking place during the ski trip in Golden, Naoto is in awe of how easy it is to spend alone time with Rise while they wait for a snowstorm to subside. Some pre-relationship fluff stuff because that's always fun and easy to write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Space Between Us

**Author's Note:**

> Just gonna preface this with an apology for how long this took and how long it actually is in length. Things....kinda got out of hand. Also sorry this takes a while to get to the prompt's theme. Thank you to tumblr user dndjunpei for sending the prompt!
> 
> This isn't very good, but here we go.

"This is such a bad romance cliché, don't you think?" Rise laughs, clinging to Naoto. "Staying in an old cabin in the middle of a blizzard?"

"Cliché, definitely. But I fail to see what's romantic about this in any manner whatsoever," Naoto replies, strained from Rise's embrace and their own embarrassment. Why anybody desires to be trapped in life-threatening weather is beyond them. Yes, you could be alone with someone you're attracted to, but-

Oh.

Well, surely it doesn't apply to this situation, they think. As if Rise would want to spend time alone with Naoto of all people.

Of course Rise was the one to offer huddling for warmth when their fire wasn't enough, and after a solid minute of stammering and a repetition of "you don't have to do that", Naoto accepted. Since then, they've been trying to breathe and not choke from how close they're being held. Not an easy task with their heart beating erratically.

Rise rolls her eyes and teases "Right, a hard-boiled detective doesn't have time for romance, do they?" No answer comes from Naoto. This gives her a chance to notice how frozen they are, despite the increased temperature. Realizing she's coming off too strong, Rise loosens her grip to allow them more freedom. "...This isn't so bad, is it?" she asks gently.

A beat passes, and Rise's tone is so assuring, Naoto finds themself agreeing with her. "I suppose...it isn't..." It was admittedly the best way to keep warm. The cabin falls into an amiable silence, and their initial discomfort melts away, replaced with an odd feeling of ease.

In a bolder moment, Naoto places an apprehensive arm around Rise to return the hug. They hope this isn't overstepping any boundaries as their hand meets her shoulder. It doesn't seem to be the case when Rise giggles and scoots nearer, resting her weight against Naoto. Their heart warms up to race again.

"To be honest," Naoto breaks the silence. "I was concerned you wouldn't deal with this situation with as much grace as you have, Rise-chan."

Offended by this, Rise snappily asserts "Hey, I am perfectly capable of handling myself! Just 'cause I don't fight Shadows with you guys doesn't mean I'm a fragile little girl!"

Naoto laughs sheepishly, well aware Rise is anything but weak. "I apologize if I came off as condescending, but that isn't what I meant. At the risk of sounding impolite, you can be...quite prone to tears."

"That's all for show! Crying on command is one of my many talents!" Rise proudly claims with a wave of her hand, then looks directly at Naoto. "Watch; say something bad to me."

As they try not to process how close their faces are, Naoto raises a reluctant brow. "What constitutes as something bad?"

"Y'know, like...fake-bad!"

"Fake-bad..." They put their free hand to their chin in thought. "S...Somebody...doesn't like your music?" was the worst Naoto could manage.

Rise's face drops faster than a brick, and her eyes start to water. "How...c-could they say that? After all the heart and soul I put into each of my songs...!" she weeps into her hands in what sounds like genuine hurt.

"Oh...oh no!" Naoto fears she isn't faking and that such a mild statement truly upset her. "No, I-I wasn't- ! I'm sorry if I actually- !"

The sobs abruptly devolve into snickering, and Rise lifts her head with a big grin. "Gotcha!"

"...Very...convincing," they give her bewildered praise. Rise has never failed to impress Naoto with her theatrics, but that was...terrifying. "And I pray you never use that skill against me."

"Oh, I already have," Rise mentions casually. A dirty look from Naoto quickly makes her change her demeanor. "B-But if you don't want me to anymore, I won't!"

"A legitimate relief." The lack of physical distance between the two grows more apparent to Naoto again, though a question distracts them. "So...all those bouts of crying around Senpai...are they also exaggerated?"

Rise blinks, eyes wide from surprise and strangely embarrassed. "Well...how else am I supposed to get his attention?" she laments, turning her gaze to the fire. "...I try over and over again to get him to notice me, but he always seems...distracted? Like he's thinking of something else." Her eyes narrow at the thought of Souji's disinterest, and she frowns. "Or maybe someone else..."

"I...see," Naoto responds, uncertain of what to say.

"...Ha, wow. Jeez, sorry about that! Didn't mean to throw myself some pity-party." Rise shakes her head and puts on a smile, but her brows stay drawn together. "That stuff can...just make you feel like you're not good enough, y'know? Like, how could I even think someone so great would..." She trails off, still focusing on the crackling embers and willing Naoto to understand.

Naoto knows feelings of inadequacy all too well. Measuring self-worth based off of people's reactions instead of trusting yourself...It warps your identity into an unrecognizable form, with a rarely positive result. But the fact that someone as brilliant and strong as Rise could share those feelings is what stuns them most.

The distance between the two is forgotten along with all of Naoto's inhibitions when they pull Rise toward them, completing the embrace. This flusters her more than they pay any mind to. "Naoto...?"

"My opinion on this may not matter, but...you shouldn't feel like you need to resort to such tactics with anyone. You are captivating enough on your own," their words spill out with almost no effort, much to their astonishment.

Rise feels her face burning a hole into Naoto's coat. "Do you...do you really think that?"

"I know it for a fact," they answer with full conviction, then incline their head at hearing a quiet laugh from Rise. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just...that was all so corny, at least how you said it," she says, half-giggling and affectionately squeezing Naoto back. "Thank you. You're pretty captivating yourself, even if you're kinda hard to follow sometimes." Rise meets their eyes with a tender smile. "You've got a nice voice."

The compliment makes Naoto fully register there was now barely any space between them and Rise. Though a swift river of heat rushes to their face, they don't move away. They wouldn't want to. Instead, Naoto fondly smiles back and leans in.

What does cause them to jerk away is hearing a shocked " _Oh my, how scandalous!_ " when Rise kisses their cheek. Both their heads collide in alarm and then snap to the cabin door, seeing a familiar mascot peeping on them.

"Teddie?!" Rise almost shrieks and yanks Naoto's beanie over their face in a blind panic at the sight of the bear.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?” Teddie attempts folding his arms like a disapproving parent. "Just what kind of lewd happenings was I about to witness with these innocent, squeaky clean lenses of mine? You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Naoto's head pounds and their insides go ice cold. Rise rises from the floor with a glare. "Teddie, no..."

An evil grin spreads across his face. "And now I'm gonna tell everyone about that kissaroo Nao-chan- _WAAAGH!!_ " Teddie's threat is cut off by Rise smacking him to the ground with a ski leg.

"Here's a fun fact: Did you know bear meat is a delicacy in Hokkaido?" Rise menaces, stomping Teddie down with her boots. "Maybe we should let Chie-senpai find out how it tastes! What do you think, Naoto-kun?"

"Uh." Naoto was too frazzled to make a coherent noise.

"Noooooo! I'm not even a real bear, all she'd taste is cotton and fluff! I didn't see anything, my lenses are still innocent and squeaky clean, I-I swear!" Teddie cowers in terror.

"That's what I thought!" Rise releases a whimpering Teddie and glances over to Naoto. Seeing they weren't having the easiest time standing, she offers a supporting hand.

Naoto avoids any eye contact when they get on their feet, mumbling a half-hearted "Thank you." They walk to Teddie and question him on where the others were, not even glancing at Rise.

She sighs wistfully. Was Rise just assuming that Naoto wanted a kiss from her? Or could their moment have been saved without Teddie's interruption? He certainly didn't help matters, that's for sure.

The rest of the team soon catches up with the three. "Whoa, did you guys seriously have to wait out the snowstorm in an old cabin?" Yosuke asks immediately in disbelief. "Talk about cliché!" Rise and Naoto fail to stop themselves from groaning.

**Author's Note:**

> Not the most conclusive ending, but it is a mini-fic so whatever. Hopefully I can post more quality Naorise content in the near future. Thanks for reading! I promise the next ones won't be as ridiculous.


End file.
